Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Illegal immigrant rapist escapes from Florida jail.

An "Undocumented Migrant Worker Only Coming to the United States to Work Hard for a Better Life" has escaped from a Florida jail where he was serving time for raping over a half-dozen women between the ages of 11 and 79 and is tied to 4 more assaults by his illegally-imported DNA.

Rapalo escaped from an opening in his sixth-floor cell at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, The Miami Herald reported, citing a Miami-Dade corrections spokeswoman. It is unclear what tools he used to burst out.

Besides the seven rapes, Rapalo has been charged with attacking at least four more women. The charges were brought based on DNA evidence. Rapalo is an illegal immigrant who lives in a Florida neighborhood full of illegal immigrants, so police are worried that more crimes may have been committed that went unreported.

For example, after successfully curbing the production of methamphetamine in Minnesota this year, we're now battling the importation of meth from Mexico. Fifteen people were arrested recently in central Minnesota in one of the largest meth investigations in the state. Law enforcement described the suspects as a mix of legal and illegal immigrants.

Our local communities need an immigration system that is both legal and orderly, and we simply can't wait for the federal government to act.

The report released last week by the Pawlenty administration shows that Minnesota's approximately 80,000 illegal immigrants cost state taxpayers $180 million a year. Both numbers need more background in order to understand the impact of illegal immigration on our state.

The growth of illegal immigrants has skyrocketed in Minnesota in recent years, which is why the governor and legislators are bringing the issue forward. The number of illegal immigrants in Minnesota increased from 13,000 in 1990 to at least 80,000 in 2004, a jump of 515 percent. This includes a 33.3 percent increase since 2000.

Maybe if enough illegals escape from jail after raping 80 year-old great-grandmas, other states will get serious, too.